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I’ve recently been challenged by Martial Arts Mom and Shang Lee to participate in a meme. I wouldn’t want to disappoint my fellow bloggers or incur their wrath, so here we go -

The meme works as follows. You post five things about yourself. Four are untrue. One is true. All are so outlandish, implausible or ridiculous that no one would be inclined to believe that any of them are true. And despite the pleas from your readers, you never divulge which is true and which are fabrications. You then tag five other people (four seriously and one person you are pretty sure would never participate).

Fact or Fiction:

1. I once entered a black belt division in a karate tournament as a green belt and subsequently took first.

2. I first learned about the availability of Russian brides through my martial arts training.

3. I was once drawn into a challenge match at my dojo by a roaming grappler looking to prove himself like a ronin.

4. I was offered a role in the upcoming movie Avatar: The Last Airbender.

5. I once broke four bo’s during a kobudo kata performance through sheer velocity and whiplash of the swings.

Sweet sweet memories…do you know which one is true and which are the dirty lies?

When it comes to self defense tools, I’m not a true expert (I’ve never been zapped by a taser nor have I been sprayed with mace). However I’ve managed to hook up with a team of REAL experts – TBO Tech Self Defense Tools.

When dealing with self defense, you never know what situation you’ll find yourself in or what you’ll have on hand. That’s exactly why I am such a big advocate for unarmed self defense. Even gun owners can’t be locked and loaded all the time.

That being said, I’m also a proponent of tilting the odds in your favor as best as possible. Real life isn’t like the MMA Ring and you don’t need to tap a guy out or go three rounds. The sooner you can resolve a dangerous situation, the better.

It’s that mindset that drives the people at TBO Tech, and fuels them to find the most innovative self defense tools around. For any readers who have been toying around with the idea of upping their self defense options, keep on reading.

Some Uncommon Tools

You know about tasers – they can take a rough looking attacker and turn him into a twitching pile. But check out THIS taser:

That is bear spray. Walk around with that in the holster and you’ll get some respect.

Other Neat Things

TBO carries a wide variety of products. They have a lot of cool surveillance equipment, ranging from nanny cams to pen recorders. There are also really useful home security products. It’s worth a minute or two of your time to go browse around and see if there is anything that catches your interest. They also also offer a 90 day guarantee on any product you buy, just in case you want to try something out.

Special Offer

As a way of welcoming ikigaiway readers, TBO Tech is offering 10% off of your purchase. Just use the code ‘ikigai‘. That’s a darn good deal!

David Bowie is a brilliant artist. He grows and changes with his art as he develops as a human being.

It would be easy for him to play this song the same way every time he is in concert. People would love him for it and he’d get paid. But instead he chooses to keep inventing and exploring. Sometimes it turns out better, sometimes worse.

Bowie’s persistence for originality keeps him engaged in his art. It’s not that he dramatically alters the structure of the song, turning it into something unrecognizable. Instead he plays with the intangible things like tempo, timing, rhythm, etc. It’s also why after over 35 years he still seems excited to perform, and why he still captivates audiences.

Can you grow with your art? Do you have the courage, persistence, and brilliance to keep exploring?